SAFETY WARNING!

[KTP]

There are many ways to make a bomb, the most harmless of this mistakes are seen in the garbage bin at the shooting range all over, the world famous ".30 idiot" 308 win from a 3006 rifle.

30 idiot have got his own Wikipedia page, in the jungle of calibers today there are endless opportunity for the creative one

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/arch...cle_f8c96095-d551-5700-b503-1de3bb53103e.html

Unfortunately that link does not answer the question of 30 cal bullets in a 7mm specific to the Blasers.

I can believe a .338Win in a .300WBY. Roughly same diameter and WBY is longer. And the WBY's have lots of free bore if I understand correctly.

A smaller diameter bullet in a larger diameter cal? Yeah I can see that depending on the chambering. But a .30 cal in a 7mm as being the culprit in the Blaser as you have said still has not been explained.

 

[KTP]

Unfortunately that link does not answer the question of 30 cal bullets in a 7mm specific to the Blasers.

I can believe a .338Win in a .300WBY. Roughly same diameter and WBY is longer. And the WBY's have lots of free bore if I understand correctly.

A smaller diameter bullet in a larger diameter cal? Yeah I can see that depending on the chambering. But a .30 cal in a 7mm as being the culprit in the Blaser as you have said still has not been explained.

A 308 from a 270 chamber will blow any rifle i guess? There are all types of wrong combinations, the first Blaser accident I read about was one of this "magic" combinations of caliber and chamber, mixing ammo for two different rifles at the shooting range.

 

[KTP]

A 308 from a 270 chamber will blow any rifle i guess? There are all types of wrong combinations, the first Blaser accident I read about was one of this "magic" combinations of caliber and chamber, mixing ammo for two different rifles at the shooting range.

A 308 in 280 rem will give the 30/7 mm magic.

 

[BG338]

Hi has anyone heard any more about these blaser “ blow up issues “ I was at the gun shop today and one of the sales men said he won’t sell blaser anymore for this reason and he said there are so many issues “over 30 plus “ blown up blaser rifles , he said there was another not long ago and I was wondering if anyone know information or details or has pics about anything relating to these problems ?

 

[robertq]

Talk without proof...... is just talk.....

 

[Red Leg]

The R93 has had some internet noise. I do know that Blaser has yet to be sued successfully for any product failure. Whether or not their has ever been a settlement, I have no way of knowing. I personally believe the R8 is the finest production rifle on the market. I own one in three calibers and have used it on everything from buff to duiker.

 

[Andrews]

A little late to the discussion, but I feel like I need to throw in. I have read through all 6 pages and have yet to see any proof or evidence on how a straight pull is a better operating system than a turnbolt. In a practical hunting situation, they are not quicker, more accurate, more relible, or more suited to any task. So why risk it with a potentially faulty design?

 

[Red Leg]

Absolutely your call. I will simply note that the only thing faster than my R8 is a double, it's trigger is perfection, and it is supremely accurate. I can also bring two barrels rather than two rifles. Of course it also uses a quick detachable scope system which I believe is critical in Africa. Oh yes, and the ergonomics are exceptional. Other than that, I can't think why to buy one.

 

[sambarhunter]

Faster? A Browning Bar can spit em out pretty quick ha ha.

 

[Rule 303]

I have not had the time to read the whole thread and have no dog in the Blaser fiasco.

BG338. Rumours are not just started by a company hiding something. In your friends case most if not all the rumours started from speculation and questions. IE Did he have oil on the locking lugs? I wonder if it was an over load? That could be caused by what ever I would think. That sort of stuff. That's from my life observations and watching some of the comments on forums about that particular accident. Then some became suspicious because your friend and those in the know apparently would not release any information about the accident. I suspect some of these may not appreciate the need to keep quiet until all the facts are clear as possible for various reason.

The Australian Federal Police tested a Blaser 93 in 338 Lap to destruction. That si they broke of one finger/locking lug at a time. The rifle was still functioning and holding with only 3 fingers left intact. The fingers were broken off to evenly distribute the burden. ie, Ist at 12, then 6, 3, 9, O'clock etc. So in my view it would take one hell of a massive over load to blow the bolt back if there was not some other reason for it happening.

 

[Nyati]

As red Leg said, the R8 is a great rifle, and totally different to the R93, not even one part is interchangeable.

And yes, several R93 have blown up, one in my own shooting range, years ago. A friend of mine was next to the shooter when it happened. A very ugly mess.

Why ? Nobody knows, nobody tells. Complete silence.

 

[Opposite Pole]

It is strange that no official info ever surfaces regarding these incidents, I’d like to know what happened regardless of who’s at fault for safety’s sake.

 

[wesheltonj]

I am not a fan of Blaser, I just don't think they are a "attractive" gun, but they are very practical gun. The Merkel is a better looking gun in Straight Pull guns.

But back to the 93. I would think the "subsequent remedial measure" of the complete redesign of the R8 is quite telling, at least to me.

 

[Opposite Pole]

I’m not so sure, most products on the market get replaced by new ones at some point in time. Businesses have to make money.

 

[Dr Ray]

I will stick to the conventional bolt actions. Many years ago my mother arrived at my house as I was reloading.
I was using a fast powder in my 243.
The result after being distracted was I double charged the case.
When I pulled the trigger later the noise, flame, and smoke were incredible.
Had to hammer the bolt open. Gunsmith fixed the problem but I had the safety and security of a conventional bolt action.
After reading this article I will never buy a straight pull bolt action rifle.

 

[Opposite Pole]

I just can't see how a traditional bolt action is safer, the lockup is weaker if anything. I was talking to a salesman in Sydney gun store who used to work for the Australian Army contractor and had hands on experience in servicing post combat R93s. He said they've seen a lot of them with missing bolt petals due to guns being used without any maintenance - no cleaning, no oiling, nothing. He said some of them had such amounts of dirt in them that it was surprising they worked at all but none of them blew up. He was not trying to sale me a Blaser, he reckoned they are ugly and too expensive and was a CZ fan.

Being a Blaser R8 user prior to purchase and afterwards I searched and searched but did not find any confirmed information about these guns blowing up, not saying it hasn't happened but details are not out there. Perhaps I'm missing something, and please do correct me if I am, but how does a turn bolt differ from straight pull in case of a blow up, does rotating bolt not move backwards? For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and in a bolt action rifle that is bolt moving backwards towards the shooter.

Silly as this may sound, the only reason why I'm considering a traditional turn bolt rifle is due to aesthetics, to me there is something elegant and sleek in the look of turn bolt designs that straight pull rifles don't have.

 

[Opposite Pole]

Interesting video on guns with obstructed barrels blowing up (or not), shot at 4000 frames per second.

 

[Dr Ray]

I bought a 270 Parker hale way back. It had never been cleaned. I used Hoppes number 9 solvent literally 30 times a day for a week and 3 tines a week for over 6 months. The groups went from 3 inches down to a respectful size.
I have never seen sone much copper fouling in a barrel before or since.
I sold that rifle many years later and it shot good tight groups and I even used my own lead alloy Bullets driven at about 1600 ft/sec.
Unbelievably they to the same east-west but lower. Just a sheer fluke.
Ladybird heard of it a man was shooting targets at the Gold Coast range (Australia).
On the bolt action etc, I agree with you on the aesthetics but I assumed the bolt action would be stronger.

 

[Justbryan]

I am a rifle hand loader and I am always worried about rifles exploding. I shot sub sonic loads which can be the most likely to cause a catastrophic detonate. Through the years I see a lot of blog post mistakes of load data especially for new wildcat loads. I have learned to not trust anyone and check and triple check loads.

I see guys at the range set there rifles on sand bags, stay off the scope, and pull the trigger in fear of failure. I move away from these guys quickly.

I am not just scared of R93 or R8. I am scared of any hand load in any rifle. When you quit worrying about the condition of your rifle and the loads used you might have a problem. We could be talking about failures in any rifle. I have seen failures in M98, Kimber's, M70, Rem 700, etc...

Don't shot someone's hand loads even if you know them. If given a bunch of hand loads I pull them apart and start over with my own hand loading process. Also, start over with every new rifle when working up a new hand load. Never assume your hot loads for one rifle will be fine in another rifle.

Even factory loads are sometimes miss loaded. Don't be naïve, shooting is dangerous!

Be safe everyone and my prayer is none of us will ever have these kind of tragic consequences. We may not know the reason for these particular failures but we need to understand how they happen.

Should we sell our Blaser's and buy stronger CRF guns only? We will have to answer that question for ourselves.